


Compass

by aneedleofmyown



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Gen, Prompt Fic, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 11:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aneedleofmyown/pseuds/aneedleofmyown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: “My daughter has become someone I hardly recognise, except when she’s with you.” AU fic in which Catelyn survives the RW. She sees that Arya has been changed forever by her experiences. The only glimpses she sees of the daughter she used to know are when she is in the presence of Gendry.</p><p>Reuested by aryafuckinggendry on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Compass

Catelyn looked on as her daughter and the blacksmith sparred in the training yard, the clang of their dulled swords ringing through the cold, spring air. She smiled with a strange kind of pride as Arya stopped to correct something Gendry was doing wrong. The boy was tall, with jet black hair, piercing blue eyes, and well-earned muscles. He really wasn't much of a boy at all anymore, and next to her short, thin daughter, he looked formidable. But he was not practiced as she was.

He nodded as Arya spoke to him, listening intently. Then the two of them sank back into their fighting stances and continued. Catelyn watched the play of muscles in the blacksmith's arms as he swung the heavy training sword at her daughter, but the girl parried his blow at the last moment with apparent ease. He was a spitting image of his late lord uncle Renly, or his father in his younger years.

It had taken a while for Cat to warm up to this young man, who spoke of her daughter with such pride and longing. He was a bastard, after all, a breed with which she didn't have the best of experiences. But Winterfell had needed a new smith, so she'd taken him on.

As time went on, though, with still no sign or word of her daughter, Catelyn had found herself visiting the forge more and more, just to hear Arya's name spoken in a way that convinced her that she couldn't be dead. It wasn't until she returned, however, that Cat started to really look at Gendry in a different light.

When her daughter came straggling through the gates of Winterfell for the first time in years, sword in hand and direwolf at her side, Catelyn had hardly recognized her. Her wild little girl had turned into a hard and fierce young woman. Her grey eyes were almost cruel; they seemed to hold the entire fury of the North in their depths. Even as Cat had wept and held her close, she could feel how her muscles were tensed and ready to strike if needed. Arya, the only child left to her, had changed into someone she no longer knew.

That is, until later that same afternoon when the blacksmith emerged from his forge; he stopped in his tracks at the sight of her daughter.

"Gendry," she heard Arya say, her voice suddenly soft and shaky, the name coming out almost as a question, or even a plea. Cat stared as she ran toward the boy- who for his part remained speechless, eyes trained in astonishment on her face. She stopped mere inches from him, and the two merely stared at each other for several long moments as Cat looked on in fascination. Then, Arya slowly lifted her hand... and punched him in the face. "Arya!" she exclaimed in shock, rushing over to restrain her daughter. But it was pointless.

Gendry was laughing as her wild girl continued to pummel him with her fists, yelling for everyone to hear. "You stupid bastard! What are you doing here? Get out! You've already left me once, it should be easy enough to do it again!"

Catelyn had no idea what she was talking about, but she saw tears beginning to mix into Gendry's laughter. Restraining her easily, he pinned her arms to her sides before lifting her off her feet in a bear hug. "You're alive," he told her simply, laughing again.

"Put me down, you  _stupid_! I don't... I don't want you here. Leave me alone." But Arya's protests grew weaker and weaker until she finally relented and returned the boy's hug.

It brought tears to Catelyn's eyes, even now, to remember that day. Her attention was brought back to the training yard, and the present, when Gendry gave a loud whoop. She didn't know how it had happened, but somehow during the sparring, he'd managed to disarm Arya, who now glared at him in annoyance. It brought a smile to Cat's lips.

That was the daughter she remembered.

It hadn't taken her long to realize that the few times she caught a glimpse of her old daughter, it was thanks to Gendry. It pained her that  _she_  couldn't be the one to remind Arya of who she used to be. But even so, she was glad for the bastard boy.

Wherever Arya went, Gendry followed, and Cat would do whatever it took to make certain it remained that way.


End file.
